A NEWS report in an English daily on Saturday said corruption centering around the government housing accommodation is reaching new heights breaking all previous records. Government standard housing rules say allotment of government quarters to public servants should be given on the basis of seniority of position, age and contingency nature of jobs that requires a person to be close to workplace. But what is now dominating, as the news report has pointed out, may be plainly called ‘allotment business’ under which the highest bidder may get the allotment. Here other influencing factors are how close this official is to the ruling party and whether they are capable of lobbying at senior levels. Recommendations by ruling party leaders and senior government officials also work tremendously leaving aside the otherwise deserving candidates who are waiting over the years. This is mainly the case in the capital and for class one and other cadre service officials where only 13,000 quarters are available compared to 150,000 officials. And when these limited facilities now go to the officials primarily on political consideration and based on bribes, a sense of deprivation is destroying the commitment of honest and efficient officials. It is moreover turning the bureaucracy into a den of ruling party politics where a section of officers can enjoy everything demoralizing the remaining members of the bureaucracy.
The report said powerful individuals are holding possession of the government quarters even after retirement by obtaining a High Court order. In many cases officials having their posting outside the capital are not surrendering the quarters thus leaving others having the allotment letters in hand to suffer a countless period of waiting. The problem is not only in getting allotment but also in getting possession of the allotted quarters. And a powerful racket is operating inside the Public Housing Directorate which is manipulating the entire system and minting illegal money from all sides. Reports said 236 cases were pending so far in courts and the Anti-Corruption Commission which was drawn to probe into the incidence has reportedly issued a ‘clean chit’ to a Deputy Director of the Public Housing Directorate on four occasions to help cover up the scandals.
We call upon the concerned ministry to be transparent in allotting government quarters to public servants and to take steps to root out the illegal racket, which is not only corrupting the entire system but also destroying morals of the otherwise honest officials. Moreover we ask the government to expedite the construction of several government quarter projects now at various level of development in the capital. We know many of those projects are also victims to corruption and misuse of fund and we ask the government to finish their construction on priority basis.
